Best landing spots for Jaylen Brown? Did Boston botch the Giannis deal?

All eyes are on Jaylen Brown and Boston. The Celtics reportedly offered the All-NBA wing to Milwaukee in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo that didn’t come to fruition. And, according to ESPN, Boston is still “actively engaged in trade talks” surrounding the 2024 Finals MVP. So, what would be the best landing spot for Brown? And have we ultimately seen the last of him in a Celtics uniform? Our writers weigh in.
Brown?

Kelly Iko: San Antonio. The cleanest deal cap-wise would have to involve De’Aaron Fox (who would likely go to a third team), but it’s hard to rewatch the bulk of the Spurs‘ offensive misfires late in those Finals games and not think that Brown could help alleviate some (or all) of that Knicks pressure. Pulling the trigger on a player of his caliber would put the franchise into that weird two-timeline territory, but Brown’s shot creation, true three-level scoring ability, ball-handling prowess and defensive versatility would mesh seamlessly with Victor Wembanyama.

Ben Rohrbach:Cleveland. The Cavaliers have the blue-chip talent (Evan Mobley) to offer for Brown, while maintaining a lineup that would feature Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. The Cavs have been in search of a wing, really, since LeBron James left town. Who better than one of the NBA’s best two-way players to fill that hole. And Brown is a winner, too. The 2024 Finals MVP could win another title with Cleveland, and that’s not something we can say about all his suitors.

Dan Devine: Boston? If this is ultimately about Jaylen wanting his own team, then maybe it’s something like the Nets, who could build something around Michael Porter Jr. and Terance Mann, or the Kings, who could send back some combination of Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Malik Monk as matching salary. If it’s about staying in the playoff hunt, then … um … I don’t know, Houston, for something built around Kevin Durant or Alperen Şengün and/or Fred VanVleet? The Clippers, for Kawhi? Truth be told, I don’t really like any of those options — for Brown, for the Celtics, or for the potential acquiring teams. Which is why the best answer, thorny as it might seem right now, is still probably Boston.

Tom Haberstroh: Houston. Reuniting former Boston head coach Ime Udoka with Brown seems like a lock-and-key fit. Yet again the Rockets’ offense crumbled this season with the increased pressure of the playoffs. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect Fred VanVleet and Kevin Durant to be healthy enough to drive their postseason runs anymore. Brown, at 29, feels like the perfect bridge.

Devine: True. The sober-minded analyst in me wants to say false, but what is late June if not a time to be drunk? The Celtics still need: more ways to generate good shots, more ways to pressure the rim, more bankable size on the interior, more talent to be able to go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the NBA, etc. They matriculated the ball down the field in pursuit of one player who could solve virtually all of those problems … and then they punted. Now, they’ve got to find other pathways to checking those boxes while also figuring out what comes next with a mercurial talent they’ve just very publicly dangled in trade talks.

Los Angeles Dodgers president Andrew Friedman once said, “If you’re always rational about every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent.” Maybe Stevens finds another way to get what he wants. Right now, though, it feels like he might have been a bit too rational at a moment where going Tim Connelly Mode might have served him well.

Haberstroh: True. Until we learn about Plan B. It’s not just that the Celtics lost out on a perennial MVP candidate who fills a glaring need in the frontcourt. That’s bad enough. It’s also that they lost him to a bitter rival in Miami. Maybe Brad Stevens has a trick up his sleeve.

Rohrbach: True. The Celtics had to have known, if they indeed offered Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo, news would leak, and they must have known it would upset him, even if they were pursuing a perennial MVP candidate. They had two choices, then: 1) Don’t offer Brown, trusting he is younger and healthier, or 2) Get Antetokounmpo, regardless of what it takes. They took neither option, and now the relationship with their own All-NBA talent may be irreparable. 

Iko: True. The mere fact that the basketball world was in utter shock that Boston, having already gone down this path with Brown a few years ago regarding Kevin Durant, chose to dangle him again is enough. It’s just bad optics from all angles. Brown had one of the best individual regular seasons in recent memory and played a significant part in the Celtics winning 56 games. To go from that to offering him in broad daylight for an older, injury-prone Giannis is extremely bold — and even bolder having lost the sweepstakes.
Tatum/Brown tandem.

Rohrbach: 8. Tatum and Brown won a championship together, and that’s forever. They are unquestionably the most successful All-Star duo of their generation. They have appeared in — and won — more playoff games than Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant did as a tandem on the Los Angeles Lakers. But Tatum and Brown have only won one championship, despite two trips to the NBA Finals and five Eastern Conference finals appearances. Winning two would put them in rare air, but it has been almost a decade since anyone has won multiple championships.

Haberstroh: 8. Five Eastern Conference finals trips, two Finals appearances and a title. Not bad. It’s hard to have asked for more from two stars with overlapping skillsets. As successful as they’ve been, I think the partnership has run its course.

Iko: 9. In the era of parity, the Celtics have been extremely consistent at the top of the Eastern standings with Tatum and Brown in the fold. Sure, they’ve let some conference finals slip away. Yea, two trips to the Finals could (and should) have resulted in two championships. But there are at least 28 teams that would have swapped fortunes with Boston over the last 10 years, so this union has been nothing short of a success.

Devine: 10. No team has more regular-season or playoff wins than the Celtics since 2017-18, Tatum and Brown’s first season together. Boston has won 65% of its games when those two have shared the floor. They’ve made the playoffs every year, won at least one series seven times, made the Eastern Conference finals five times, won the East twice, and won one NBA championship, in an era where nobody repeats. Maybe I’m a softy, but how is that not a 10?

Haberstroh: Yes. Boston’s asking price may be too steep for now, but I sense that this is just part of negotiations. The Celtics aren’t up against some sort of hard deadline, so this will probably take a while to play itself out. Brown had an amazing run in Boston. Ten seasons with one club is an eternity in today’s NBA.

Iko: Yes,I think so. It almost has to be. Can’t put the toothpaste back in the bottle once it’s been squeezed.

Devine: No, I don’t think so. But I’ll be keeping an eye on Twitch, just in case.

Rohrbach: Yes. Brown and Tatum have yet to turn 30 years old, and there was still plenty of runway left to contend, so long as Boston put the right pieces around them, but the damage is done. The Celtics had a shot to shut the door on rumors involving Brown, even after their pursuit of Antetokounmpo, but they have left it open, reportedly engaging with multiple teams on trade discussions about the two-time All-NBA pick. How does any relationship come back from that?